Improved oab-staetee



l. N. BEVANS- Car Starter. I

No. 79,529. Patented June' 30, 1868.

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Witnesses; I

, I I Inventor:

N. PETERS. Pholo-Liihograpfiar, Washinglon, n. c.

ha at... gam on TRAN. BEVANS, OF THOMASTON,hSS1GNOR TO HIMSELF, JOHN H. ALGOTT,

AND GEORGE GIGRISWOLD, OF PLYMOUTH. CONNECTICUT.

Letters Patent No. 79,529, dated June" 30, 1868;

IMPROVED OAR-STARTER.

10 ALL WHOM fir MAY CONCERN 5' Be it knownthat I, IRAN; BEVINS, of Thomaston, in the county of Litchfield, and State of Connecticut, have invented a 'new' and useful Improvement in Oar-Starters; and do hereby deelare'the following to be a 'full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,'which are made part of this specification, and in which': 1 p

I Figure 1 representsthe under side view of a street-car with my inventiouappliem Figure 2 is a sectional side elevation of the same.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the two figures. p

The subject of this invention is more particularly designed for application to horse-cars, but it may be appliedto other conveyances, as it is a mechanical agency intended to assist the horses in; giving the initial movement to or overcoming the inertia of the vehicle in starting.

A lever, connected to a sliding tongue or draught-rod, is made to act upon a' ratchet-wheel keyed centrally upon the axle, and the carrying-wheels are made fast to the latter, so as to simultaneously rotate therewith,

and thereby enable the vehicle to be put in motion without, subjecting the horses to the unusual exertion and strain which are generally observable in the starting of street-cars. I am aware that a lever has heretofore been employed in the manner above stated. The present-invention consists in a peculiar construction of and mode of applying alever to assist in starting the car, and inthe employment of a spring-catch, or other suitable detaining-device, for the'purpose' of securing the rigidity or fixedness'of the tongue or draught-rod after the vehicle has started.

. In order that others skilled in'the art to which my'invention'appert ains may be enabled to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe it in connection with'theaccompanying drawings.

A may representthe bottom or su-bstructure of a car, upon which "is erected or supported the body. In fig. 1, it is shown as inverted, in orderto clearly present to the view the various parts which are concerned in starting the Car. p

' B B are two sirnilar levers, employed, respectively with theirseveral adjuncts, in connection with the two axles Gflfl. .If the axle C be the forward one,'the lever 'B, pertaining-thereto, is brought into requisition,

while the lever B, pertaining to axle 0, remains idl e, andvice oersa. "-A description of the operation of one lever, and of its accessories,- will sufiice, andwithout specific allusion to lever B, I will regard the lever B as belonging to the forward axle, and proceed with the tdescrip'tio'n upon that supposition.

The axleC is provided; at or near its mid-length, with a ratchet or toothed wheel,'D,-which, being fast, imparts to the axle any rotary motion it may receive. E E are lugs-or-ears,.fitted loosely upon the axle C,

and connected together by the pin e, whichoompels said lugs to. maintain their positions at the opposite sides I of the ratchet-wheel D. The pine also alfords a means of pivotal attachment between the,lever B and'the lugs-E E. The forwardend, b, of the lever B, is made in the shape of a pawlor detent, asshown in fig. 2. F is a chain, connected to the lever B at a variable point near the rear end of said lever, and the chain passes thence over a pulley, G, journalled in suitable bearings, I, secured-to the bottom of the car-body, and thence forward to the tongue H, 'to the rear end of which said chain is made fast, as shownin fig. 2. In fig. 1, the

chain isnot shown, and a portion of the leverB is represented as broken away, so as to expose the pulley G to view. When the rear end of the lever B is depressed, and the draught-rod H retracted as shown, said draught-rod, if drawn upon by the'horses, moves forward to the position shown infig. 2, and in so doing-raises the rear end of the lever B- through the-medium ofjthe chain F. While the .leverBis undergoing this vibrating movement, its forward end, bitches into the teeth of the wheel D, and thus compels the forward axle and the forward carrying -wheel to turn. The force required to start' the car, -as.thus transmitted through the lever B, 'isvery small inc'omparison with" that required when the vehicle has to be moved by the horses, unaided by mechanical'm'eans; As soon asthe rear end of the lever B reaches theextremityof its upward movement, it

comes to rest in contact with the projection or stop J,'and the continued action of the chain upon said lever has the efi'ect to disengage the end 6 from the wheel D. The draught-rod H can then slide forward no further, and the car being by that time fairly started, is impelled upon its course by the sheer power of the horses.

Whenthe car is under way, it is desirable to have the draught-rod immovable in respect to the car. 'It has been seen that when the draught-rod H hasmoved forward to a certain extent, its further'motion in that direction is prevented by the contact of the end of lever B with the projection J. In order to hold the draught-rod H in this advanced position, and effectually prevent its backward movement for as long a time as may be desired, '1 have applied to the underside of the car-body or bottom, A, a spring-catch, m, one end of which is made fast,

while the other is free to be sprunginto a notch in the draught-rod H, as shown in fig. 1. This catch m is sufiiciently strong to retain the draught-rod in its forward position, and by its means the draught-rod ismade rigid or immovable in respect tothe car, as soon as the latter has been fairly started. The catch m may be bent, and. made to extend upward through the platform of the car, so that the dri er canwith his foot push the catch away from the draught-rod, to permit the latter to be retracted preparatory to starting.

72 may represent an adjustable rest for the lever B and legs E, when in the depressed position. Having thus described my invention, what-I claim sis/new herein,-and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- i The lever B, so constructed and applied as to act directly upon the ratchet-wheelD, and employed in com-- bination'with the lugs E, sliding draught-rod orbar H, chain F, pulley G, and catch m, arranged and operating in the manner and for the purpose explained.

To the abovespecification of my new and useful improvement in cars-starters, I have. signed my name, this seventh day of May, 1868. Y IRA N, BEVANS.

, Witnesses:

V. R. O. GIDDINGS,

DAVID SHELTON. 

